Attachment for rocking-chai rs



No Model.)

W. I. BUNKER.

ATTACHMENT FOR BOGKING CHAIRS. I No. 334,102. Patented Jan. 12, 1886.

iIUlllllllllllllllllllli 'fllfil lllllllllIIIIIIIIII! UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

\VILLIAM I. BUNKER, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

ATTACHMENT FOR ROCKING-CHAIRS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 334,102, dated January 12, 1886. Application filed November 3, 1884. Serial No. 147,066. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM I. BUNKER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Attachments for Rocking-Chairs, of which the following is a specification.

The object of my invention is to make an attachment for rocking-chair springs that will hold the ends of the spring rigidly when in place, and at the same time enable the spring to be removed and the chair shipped in separate pieces without disturbing or removing the portions of thebrackets which are screwed or otherwise attached to the rockers or baserails; and it consists in the features of construction and arrangement hereinafter described.

In the drawings, Figure 1 represents the spring and brackets in position on the rocker and base-rails as applied in use. Fig. 2 shows a plan view of one of the brackets when in position on the rocker or base-rail. Fig. 3shows a detached view of portions of the brackets, andFig. 4 is a perspective view of the two parts detached.

In the drawings, A represents the spring; B, 1a bracket; 0, the rocker, and D the baserai In constructing my improved bracket for attaching the coiled springs to the rockers and base-rails of a platform rocking-chair I make each bracket in two pieces. One of these parts is attached, by screwing or otherwise, to the rockers or base-rails of the chair. and the other is attached to the coiled spring by screwing them together or otherwise, so as to get a rigid and, as I term it, permanent connection between the two. The parts which are attached to the portions of the chair are preferably made dovetailed, as shown in Figs. 2 and. 3, and the portions of the bracket which are attached to the spring are provided with recesses adapted to receive the dovetailed portions. These features are particularly shown in Figs. 2 and 3. After the coiled spring has been attached at both ends to the appropriate portions of the bracket all that is necessary in order to connect the two parts of the chair and fit them for use is to place one of the portions of the brackets attached to the spring in its proper place with reference to the dovetailed portion on the rocker and base-rails, and stretch the spring, so as to permit the other portion to be inserted in the dovetailed recess provided to receive it, when the pull of the spring will bring the two portions of the brackets into a snug and secure fit in their appropriate dovetailed recesses. Thus the spring by its tension will operate to hold the portions of the brackets in place and prevent their displacement by the movements of the chair in rocking or without stretching the spring apart. The greater thetension of the spring the closer and more securely will the parts be held in place, as appears from Fig. 1.

It will be observed, and I desire to call special attention to the fact, that the spring is connected with the portion of the bracket attached to the rockers or base-rails by means of another portion of the bracket attached to the spring, the construction permitting the spring to be removed and the chair taken apart and shipped in separate pieces without disturbing or removing the portions of the bracket secured thereto, and the connection at the side of the spring dispenses with proj ecting parts when the chair is so taken apart, and thus reduces the liability to breakage in shipment to a minimum. Of course the arrangement of these parts could be exactly reversed, so as to have the piece by which the two portions of the bracket are connected together located on and as a part of the portion of the bracketattached to the chair without affecting the nature of the invention.

Instead of makingthe portions of the brackets which are attached to the rockers and baserails of the chair the dovetailed portions, as they are represented in the drawings, the relative position of the parts may be reversed and that portion cast with the portions of the brackets which are attached to the springs, so that the outside portions of thebrackets would be attached to the appropriate portions of the chair and the inside portion connected to the spring exactly the reverse of the position and arrangement shown in the drawings. This arrangementwill be obvious to every one, and need not be minutely described.

It is further evident that dovetailing is not the only means of forming a connection between the two portions of the bracket, though in use I prefer this method, as it is simpleand efficacious. In mechanics, however, anumber of well-known expedients to take the place of dovetailing-Such as the use of pins, teeth, &c.are practiced, and I mean to employ the" same, if occasion require.

As already stated, the ends of the springs are rigidly secured by brackets, so that the springs are not only held in place, but are also required to be flexed or bent by the rocking motions; and in this respect, not to mention other differences, my invention differs materially from the loose or hooked connect-ion shown in the Zangerle patent of May 21, 1878, and similar patents.

I I claim 1. A bracket for platform rocking-chair attachments, comprising two parts, one attached to the coiled spring and the other to the appropriate portions of the chair, the two when in operation being secured or fastened together by one interlocking with or into the other at the side of the spring, substantially as described.

2. A bracket for platform rocking-chair attachments, comprising two parts, one to be permanently attached to the chair and the other to the coiled spring, and the two to be connected together when in use by, one dovetailinginto the other at the side of the spring, substantially as described.

3. A bracket for platform rockingchair attachments, comprising two parts, one to be proper relative positions when in use by the drawing tension of the spring, whereby by means'of the rigid attachment of their ends the springs are flexed or bent by the rocking of the chair, substantially as described.

WILLIAM I. BUNKER.

XVitnesses:

G. C. LINTHICUM, THOMAS A. BANNING. 

